The new trafic mess on the Quay.

decies

Whats the story with the bus lane? Can a car enter it or not at the moment nobody seems to know what to do if your going left at tower are you supposed to avoid bus lane and sweep over to the left or just drive through it!!!

Brick Session

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Would you not be nervous where the parked cars are to reverse into the cycle lane?

I think that is a major problem right there, IIRC correctly under the rules of the road, you are not permitted to reverse into the flow of oncoming traffic, yet our traffic management muppets have designed it to work that way.

JohnC.

decies wrote: »

Whats the story with the bus lane? Can a car enter it or not at the moment nobody seems to know what to do if your going left at tower are you supposed to avoid bus lane and sweep over to the left or just drive through it!!!

Bus lanes can be used by buses, taxis and bicycles. Despite this particular bus lane being a bit silly, you are not supposed to drive in it. It's pretty basic so the fact that nobody knows is a pretty damning indictment of peoples driving knowledge.

Ironically, the only vehicle I've yet to see in this bus lane is a bus.

decies

Kahless wrote: »

Bus lanes can be used by buses, taxis and bicycles. Despite this particular bus lane being a bit silly, you are not supposed to drive in it. It's pretty basic so the fact that nobody knows is a pretty damning indictment of peoples driving knowledge.

Ironically, the only vehicle I've yet to see in this bus lane is a bus.

That's all well and good I was in the correct lane to turn left at tower so had to sweep out and into left lane . Driver inside me drove straight through bus lane . It's a recipe for disaster the way it's set up nothing to do per say with knowledge of bus lanes .

wmpdd3

This happened to me, only for I had to drop someone off, I would never drive down the quay.

I took the right hand lane after the roundabout, 4 white vans took the left lane, after the pedestrian crossing I indicated left, but there was a line of the vans blocking the lane, so I just had to hold up traffic waiting to join that lane.

True the only vehicle I haven't seen in there are busses.

Also the bus lane sign is still not uncovered so the van might have not seen the lane markings. It was like ballet watching each vehicle try swap lanes after the pedestrian crossing.

Wilde_37

Kahless wrote: »

Bus lanes can be used by buses, taxis and bicycles. Despite this particular bus lane being a bit silly, you are not supposed to drive in it. It's pretty basic so the fact that nobody knows is a pretty damning indictment of peoples driving knowledge.

The bus lane is not in operation at the moment. As you approach it the sign, giving the hours of operation, is still covered. Therefore it is perfectly acceptable to use it.

bilibob

I just read this on the city council website regarding the Gladstone street roundabout and the median to the roundabout which are due to start on Monday.


€1.5 million and 42 WEEKS!!!

42 WEEKS!

they are beyond belief.

and a Kildare company got the contract.

lassykk

Given how unbelievable badly this project has been managed up to now nothing would surprise me.

If they have been given 42 weeks you can be sure it will take 84 weeks and cost €3m

Jambo

bilibob wrote: »

I just read this on the city council website regarding the Gladstone street roundabout and the median to the roundabout which are due to start on Monday.


€1.5 million and 42 WEEKS!!!

42 WEEKS!

they are beyond belief.

and a Kildare company got the contract.

42 Weeks is Unbelievable - That will take us into Week 7 2015 ( 3rd Week Feb 2015) Yet more disruption and a reason for potential shoppers to avoid the City for the Christmas Period - just like the last phase.

I am sure the Hoteliers on The Quay wont be impressed with this work schedule impacting their visiting guests and coach tours

I understand the contractor will have to work with on a live road but still if they pull out all stops (and builder holidays) this surely can be reduced to lessen the impact on the city.

7upfree

Jambo wrote: »

42 Weeks is Unbelievable

It is unacceptable really. In this day and age. They seem to be attempting to break some kind of record.

waterfordblaa2

This has to be the worst project ever commissioned by Waterford City Council. What a shame the Quay is destroyed and puts people off going to town. This could potentially finish Waterford.

fricatus

waterfordblaa2 wrote: »

What a shame the Quay is destroyed and puts people off going to town. This could potentially finish Waterford.

Oh would ya go away... the bit of the Quay that they've done is far nicer and safer than the other bit which is still a racetrack.

It's good that the traffic is slowed down - there's no need for a 45 mph dash to the red lights at either end. I drive it every day at rush hour and it doesn't slow me down by more than about a minute in total compared to the old design.

Ask any traffic engineer and they'll tell you that it's not the road that needs to be high capacity, it's the junctions. You could have ten lanes going down the Quay but they all have to get through by the Tower or across the bridge.

If anything, the new layout at the bridge is far better than the old one. I get through there quicker in the mornings heading to KK, and the same again in the evenings because of the right-turn lane for Bilberry.

And before you ask, no, I've no connection to the project, other than using the Quay twice a day!

shinzon

it probably wont be done in a 142 weeks tbh

Shin

7upfree

fricatus wrote: »

Oh would ya go away... the bit of the Quay that they've done is far nicer and safer than the other bit which is still a racetrack.

It's good that the traffic is slowed down - there's no need for a 45 mph dash to the red lights at either end. I drive it every day at rush hour and it doesn't slow me down by more than about a minute in total compared to the old design.

Ask any traffic engineer and they'll tell you that it's not the road that needs to be high capacity, it's the junctions. You could have ten lanes going down the Quay but they all have to get through by the Tower or across the bridge.

If anything, the new layout at the bridge is far better than the old one. I get through there quicker in the mornings heading to KK, and the same again in the evenings because of the right-turn lane for Bilberry.

And before you ask, no, I've no connection to the project, other than using the Quay twice a day!

In fairness Fricatus, I use it several times a day. It is an unmitigated disaster really. And will cause the very thing they say it was designed to prevent. Accidents.

Only yesterday a guy was going down the Quay in front of me and wanted to park in a loading bay outside Dawsons. Did he continue down to the GPO roundabout and back up? No chance - straight into the oncoming filter lane and across the Quay. I'v also seen people take the turn to Exchange Street this way.

The stretch from Exchange Street to Reginald's Tower defies belief really. You can't really call it a "plan". Inverted bus lanes, cycle lanes, the roundabout being too large. It is endless.

What was needed was to enforce a 30 Km/h speed limit. Not vandalise the Quays. Which is what has happened. I have no doubt that, in years to come, this will be ripped up, with people asking what we were thinking.

Chiparus

I find it much better and safer, no longer to people wanting to get from the carparks to the shopping area have to cross a dual carriageway.

I dont fing the traffic is any slower as I find the main hold up is the John street junction.

fricatus

7upfree wrote: »

In fairness Fricatus, I use it several times a day. It is an unmitigated disaster really. And will cause the very thing they say it was designed to prevent. Accidents.

Only yesterday a guy was going down the Quay in front of me and wanted to park in a loading bay outside Dawsons. Did he continue down to the GPO roundabout and back up? No chance - straight into the oncoming filter lane and across the Quay. I'v also seen people take the turn to Exchange Street this way.

No road layout is going to stop accidents, because there will always be idiots out there. I saw one guy yesterday exit a roundabout and then, deciding he had taken the wrong exit, tried to swan-neck around the little pedestrian refuge so as to have another go at the roundabout. Those behind him and the oncoming traffic didn't know what to do. You will get fools everywhere. :rolleyes:

What it will do is stop the sort of mad jockeying for position that would have people swerving out into the "overtaking" lane as soon as the guy in front slows down for a car park (I saw one guy doing this one day, not noticing a motorbike just in his blind spot :eek:), or speeding up so that they can cut in front of a bus before the lights - often while a pedestrian stands vulnerable on that strip of white paint. Such situations really have a lot of potential to cause fatalities or serious injuries, and it's nice to see that the new layout calms things down a bit.

Potential-Monke

7upfree wrote: »

What was needed was to enforce a 30 Km/h speed limit. Not vandalise the Quays. Which is what has happened. I have no doubt that, in years to come, this will be ripped up, with people asking what we were thinking.

And then people would have been on here giving out that the Gardaí have nothing better to do than stop people for going 1/2/3/5/10 kmph over the limit.

The Quay is a lot safer than what it was, and once there's a median going all the way along the Quay the better, stop idiots crossing 2 lanes because they couldn't be bothered to drive to a fairly close roundabout to turn around and come back up to where they want.

sparkling sea

The Quay is disaster area for many drivers and many businesses; but as long as it keeps the cars out of the city (and the drivers and passengers) sure what does it matter.

In 10 years or so they'll do what they had to do in many cities and towns in America, dig it all up again, all in the name of encourging people to come back into what are now ghost towns.

What would it be like if we were the leaders instead of the followers, probably a more prosperous and lively city, feck that.

7upfree

sparkling sea wrote: »

The Quay is disaster area for many drivers and many businesses; but as long as it keeps the cars out of the city (and the drivers and passengers) sure what does it matter.

In 10 years or so they'll do what they had to do in many cities and towns in America, dig it all up again, all in the name of encourging people to come back into what are now ghost towns.

What would it be like if we were the leaders instead of the followers, probably a more prosperous and lively city, feck that.

Agree 100%. The laughable thing is that - for all the "planning" - a roundabout isn't being put where it's needed most - at the end of Conduit Lane.

7upfree

Potential-Monke wrote: »

The Quay is a lot safer than what it was

Not from the GPO to Reginald's Tower. A disaster waiting to happen. Whatever lunatic thought of putting a bus lane there?

allthedoyles

7upfree wrote: »

Not from the GPO to Reginald's Tower. A disaster waiting to happen. Whatever lunatic thought of putting a bus lane there?

A car passed me on the inside using the cycle lane yesterday, and when we arrived at the bus-lane/ he zoomed up the inside in the bus-lane .

I would think using that cars using the bus-lane is widespread .

7upfree

allthedoyles wrote: »

A car passed me on the inside using the cycle lane yesterday, and when we arrived at the bus-lane/ he zoomed up the inside in the bus-lane .

I would think using that cars using the bus-lane is widespread .

The bus lane isn't open yet. I only know that because someone else pointed it out to me!

nidge123

Parked my car opposite centra on quay, in car park just a few minutes before six,got out of car park straight away, pedestrian lights went red so truck left room, ...... It took me 20 minutes to get as far as the bridge, crazy is an understatement, put anyone off coming to waterford... And the road works have not started yet on the quay

Trick of the Tail

I was coming into town this eve at abt 5pm from Ardkeen, and the traffic was backed up all the way from the Quay to Newtown college.

Nice work, traffic planners!

Not a sodding clue.

bilibob

It was rush hour- the dunmore road is almost always like that at that time, often back to Ballinakill. The ring road is there as an alternative to get into town through Johns hill, or Johns park,or the cork road. If you want to get across the bridge there is the bypass.

The changes are being made to the quays help the people who want to visit and use the city centre, not those who just want to fly through it.

sparkling sea

bilibob wrote: »

It was rush hour- the dunmore road is almost always like that at that time, often back to Ballinakill. The ring road is there as an alternative to get into town through Johns hill, or Johns park,or the cork road. If you want to get across the bridge there is the bypass.

The changes are being made to the quays help the people who want to visit and use the city centre, not those who just want to fly through it.

I want to visit and use the city centre and I think the changes have made it more difficult, I find the quay is a disaster. Furthermore the changes were actually meant to help people who need to "fly" through the city as well as everyone else, it was meant to be easier and faster to enter and exit the city, couldn't be more unsuccessful. The only place I have seen or heard positive comments regarding the revamped quay is by a small number of posters on boards, very strange indeed.

Not everyone can afford to waste their petrol and take a tour of the outskirts of the city suburbs, not everyone can afford to use the bypass. It may surprise you to read that money is a real issue for many people in Waterford.

bilibob

On the contrary, I fully understand that money is a problem. But if you are just trying to take a shortcut through the town to get across the bridge- as a lot of the traffic is- , then don't complain about the traffic at 5 and 6 o'clock in the evening. Long before the roundabout on the quay I remember being stuck up at the yellow road because traffic was backed up from the bridge, and also out crawling along in front the uluru and sometimes back to collins avenue at that time of the evening.

I am not 100 percent in favour of the roadworks either- If you read back a few posts I am incensed at the cost and moreso the construction time in the roadworks (42 weeks!!) - That is the real disgrace of the roadworks. I also can't understand the bus lane of about 100 metres- completely pointless as the main congestion is for cars going down the mall, not to mention lethal for cyclists.

As regard the success of the last phase- there is definitely a noticeable increase in footfall down that end of the town a couple of new shops have opened (albeit small pop up ones) It not just on boards. At work people say the roundabout is great for getting in and out of the car park, and getting in and out of city square. That whole end of the town looks really well in the nice sunshine we have had, and much more impressive than the end of the quay that hasn't been done yet.

Sully

I personally find the quay much nicer than it was before, with the exception of the roundabout which I think is too big and the ugliest construction on our quayside.

sparkling sea

bilibob wrote: »

On the contrary, I fully understand that money is a problem. But if you are just trying to take a shortcut through the town to get across the bridge- as a lot of the traffic is- , then don't complain about the traffic at 5 and 6 o'clock in the evening. Long before the roundabout on the quay I remember being stuck up at the yellow road because traffic was backed up from the bridge, and also out crawling along in front the uluru and sometimes back to collins avenue at that time of the evening.

I am not 100 percent in favour of the roadworks either- If you read back a few posts I am incensed at the cost and moreso the construction time in the roadworks (42 weeks!!) - That is the real disgrace of the roadworks. I also can't understand the bus lane of about 100 metres- completely pointless as the main congestion is for cars going down the mall, not to mention lethal for cyclists.

As regard the success of the last phase- there is definitely a noticeable increase in footfall down that end of the town a couple of new shops have opened (albeit small pop up ones) It not just on boards. At work people say the roundabout is great for getting in and out of the car park, and getting in and out of city square. That whole end of the town looks really well in the nice sunshine we have had, and much more impressive than the end of the quay that hasn't been done yet.

Dont think it helps and I dont agree that it looks better; characterless is how I'd describe it and a apain in the arse.
In fairness new and samey aren't my thing but I'd get over that if it encouraged people back into town, lost on how the round about is helping with what has been a half empty city square car park but sure there you go.

mooseknunkle

I read in a local paper today that a woman and child where hit by a car while crossing the road from Gladstone street thankfully the child was un-hurt but her mother had to be brought to adrkeen i think